What are rotating categories?

Credit card companies often generate a schedule for earning rewards with specific types of spending. This is usually changed quarterly, hence the name rotating categories.

How can I maximize my credit card rewards?

The best way to maximize your credit card rewards is to sign up for cards that offer the most points for the type of spending you do. People who spend lots of money on dining are excellent candidates for the Amex Gold card, for example.

What is the best credit card rewards program?

Generally, the most valuable credit card rewards programs have transferable currencies. These are Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Which credit card gives more reward points?

The best credit cards will depend on what you spend your money on. Take a look at the cards presented in this guide to figure out which credit card gives the most rewards points for your situation.

The Best Credit Cards for Each Bonus Category [2023]

Trying to earn a respectable balance of points with credit card spending is highly scientific. Aside from getting one of the best credit card bonuses, optimizing your usage of credit cards is, unsurprisingly, the most reliable way to earn rewards on everyday spending.

Analyzing your types of spending and the amounts associated with each category are instrumental in crafting a strong strategy.

The main thing you’ll need to remember is that you should be using credit cards that earn the highest return on spend in each of the major bonus categories.

You can do this without increasing the amount you spend; spending smarter doesn’t mean spending more of your hard-earned money.

Table of contents

Bonus Categories: Straightforward or Not?
The 10 Best Credit Cards Across All Bonus Categories — Summary
The 3 Best Cards for Dining
The 5 Best Cards for Supermarkets
The 3 Best Cards for Airfare
The 5 Best Cards for Hotels
The 2 Best Cards for General Travel Purchases
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card — 3x Points
- Chase Sapphire Reserve Card — 3x Points
The 4 Best Cards for Gas Purchases
The 2 Best Cards for Cellular Phone, Internet, Cable, and Other Telecommunications
- Ink Business Cash Card — 5% Cash-back
- Ink Business Preferred Card — 3x Points
The 2 Best Cards for Entertainment
- U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card — 5% Cash-back
- Capital One Savor Rewards Credit Card — 4% to 8% Cash-back
The 2 Best Cards for Gym Memberships
- U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card — 5% Cash-back
- World of Hyatt Card — 2x Points
The 2 Best Cards for Office Supplies
- Ink Business Cash Card — 5% Cash-back
- Huntington Voice Business Credit Card℠ — 4% Cash-back
The 3 Best Cards for Rotating Categories
The 6 Best Cards for Miscellaneous Spending
Final Thoughts

Table of Contents

Bonus Categories: Straightforward or Not?
The 10 Best Credit Cards Across All Bonus Categories — Summary
The 3 Best Cards for Dining
The 5 Best Cards for Supermarkets
The 3 Best Cards for Airfare
The 5 Best Cards for Hotels
The 2 Best Cards for General Travel Purchases
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card — 3x Points
- Chase Sapphire Reserve Card — 3x Points
The 4 Best Cards for Gas Purchases
The 2 Best Cards for Cellular Phone, Internet, Cable, and Other Telecommunications
- Ink Business Cash Card — 5% Cash-back
- Ink Business Preferred Card — 3x Points
The 2 Best Cards for Entertainment
- U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card — 5% Cash-back
- Capital One Savor Rewards Credit Card — 4% to 8% Cash-back
The 2 Best Cards for Gym Memberships
- U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card — 5% Cash-back
- World of Hyatt Card — 2x Points
The 2 Best Cards for Office Supplies
- Ink Business Cash Card — 5% Cash-back
- Huntington Voice Business Credit Card℠ — 4% Cash-back
The 3 Best Cards for Rotating Categories
The 6 Best Cards for Miscellaneous Spending
Final Thoughts

Bonus Categories: Straightforward or Not?

Each credit card has its own unique rewards structure. Undoubtedly, different credit cards will earn different percentages, and some even earn miles as opposed to cash-back.

For those who are looking to optimize your travel (hence probably why you’re here), you might find that keeping track of all of the credit cards out there is totally overwhelming.

If you are expecting 3% cash-back on groceries, for example, your exact purchase might not earn the bonus points, as payment categories are actually a complicated matter.

Depending on how the merchant codes to the payment processing companies, you might expect to earn more points, only to be disappointed.

One example is Costco. Many people think of Costco as a grocery store, but in reality, it’s actually coded as a warehouse, which would make Costco purchases ineligible for earning bonus points in the grocery category.

The only way to truly find out if you’ll earn bonus points for sure is to try it out and look at your earnings by logging into your online credit card accounts.

Without further ado, let’s take a gander at the top credit cards in each bonus category.

The 10 Best Credit Cards Across All Bonus Categories — Summary

Card	Welcome Offer and Annual Fee	Best Bonus Category
American Express® Gold Card	Earn 60,000 points when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 6 months. Annual fee of $250 (rates and fees)	Restaurants – 4x points U.S. Supermarkets – 4x points (up to up to $25,000 per calendar year)
Citi Prestige® Card	No welcome offer available. Annual fee of $495	Restaurants – 5x points Air Travel – 5x points
Chase Sapphire Reserve®	Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $550	Dining – 3x points Ultimate Rewards Air Travel – 5x Ultimate Rewards Hotels and Car Rentals – 10x General Travel – 3x points
The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card	Earn 15,000 points after you make $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $95	U.S. Supermarkets – 3x points (up to $6,000 per year) U.S. Gas Stations – 2x points
Citi Premier® Card	Earn 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel portal through June 30, 2024. Annual fee of $95	Supermarkets – 3x points Hotels – 3x points Gas Stations – 3x points
The Platinum Card® from American Express	Earn 80,000 points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 6 months. Annual fee of $695 (rates and fees)	Flights booked directly with airlines or with Amex Travel – 5x points (up to $500,000 per year) Prepaid hotels booked with Amex Travel – 5x points
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express	Earn 120,000 points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $695 (rates and fees)	Flights booked directly with airlines or with Amex Travel – 5x points Prepaid hotels booked with Amex Travel – 5x points
The World of Hyatt Credit Card	Earn 30,000 points when you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months. Plus, up to 30,000 additional points by earning 2x in the first 6 months on purchases that normally earn 1x, on up to $15,000 spent. Annual fee of $95	Hyatt Hotels – up to 9x points Gym Memberships – 2x points
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card	Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $95	Travel – 3x points Select Business Categories – 3x points
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card	Earn $750 cash-back after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $0	Office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services – 5% cash-back (up to $25,000) Gas stations and restaurants – 2% cash-back (up to $25,000)

The 3 Best Cards for Dining

First, let’s start with dining purchases! Eating out makes up a huge portion of people’s budgets, especially with millennials. Dining can also be a large portion of your business expenses, so it’s imperative to get the most points you can when spending on dining.

American Express® Gold Card — 4x Points

Our top choice for dining purchases is the Amex Gold Card. You can earn 4x points on restaurants with this card!

According to our travel points and miles valuations, 1 American Express Membership Rewards point is worth 2.2 cents, which is the highest return. This means your return would be approximately ~8.8 cents per dollar spent.

Amex Membership Rewards points are insanely valuable and are one of the single most valuable transferable currencies out there. With a slew of Amex transfer partners, there’s no end to the ways you can redeem your Membership Rewards points.

Hot Tip: How about up to $120 in dining credits? Check out tons of other benefits of the Amex Gold card!

Citi Prestige® Card — 5x Points

Another great card is the Citi Prestige card (no longer open to new applicants). This card earns 5x points at restaurants, which makes it a huge earner. This card earns the most points per dollar, but because Citi ThankYou Rewards Points aren’t as valuable as Membership Rewards points (1.6 cents vs. 2.2 cents), it falls just short of first place.

By earning 5x points, your return on spend would hover around 8 cents per dollar. Citi ThankYou Points, though not as valuable as Amex points, can still be redeemed for a tremendous value.

Chase Sapphire Reserve® — 3x Points

Our last recommended pick for dining is the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. This card earns 3x points on dining at restaurants. According to our valuations, they can be worth around 2 cents per point for a total return on spend of around 6 cents per dollar.

Importantly, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points that you can transfer to airline and hotel partners. The card offers access to 1,300+ airport lounges via the Priority Pass membership, which is a big perk.

Also, the card offers up to $300 as a travel credit that can be used for virtually any sort of travel, whether it’s for airline tickets, cruises, or hotel stays.

Hot Tip: There are a ton of benefits with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, so make sure you know how to make the most of this card.

The 5 Best Cards for Supermarkets

Although the customer trend of grocery shopping is decreasing year after year thanks to e-commerce and eating out more, supermarket spending still represents a big chunk of consumer spending.

The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card — 3x Points

The best credit card is the Amex EveryDay Preferred card. You can earn 3x points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year (after that, earn 1x points).

Also, you’ll earn 2x points at U.S. gas stations and 1x points on all other purchases. Also, if you’ve made 30 or more purchases during a billing period, you’ll earn a 50% bonus on points from those purchases.

This means you could potentially earn 4.5x points on your purchases at U.S. supermarkets, equal to an eye-opening 9.5% to 10% return on spend.

Hot Tip: Superstores like Walmart and warehouse clubs such as Costco and Sam’s Club do not qualify for bonus points.

Amex Gold Card — 4x Points

The Amex Gold card earns big on groceries at 4x Membership Rewards points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1x).

Also, it earns 4x Membership Rewards points at restaurants. It was the clear winner for the best dining credit card, and it is way up there for groceries, too.

Earning 4x points is equivalent to an 8.4% return on spend, which is stellar.

The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card — Up to 2.4x Points

The Amex EveryDay card is also a great option for grocery spending. You’ll earn 2x points at U.S. supermarkets up to $6,000 in purchases each year. Plus, make 20 or more purchases with your card in a billing period and earn 20% extra points.

This could make your grocery purchases provide an approximate return of 5% to 5.3% on spending, according to our valuations.

Hot Tip: Want to learn more about this excellent introductory card? Check out the top benefits of the Amex EveryDay card.

Citi Premier® Card — 3x Points

The final pick for supermarket spending is the Citi Premier card. This card earns 3 points per $1 spent at supermarkets. This earns a 4.8% return on spend, according to our valuations.

Additionally, you can earn 3x points at restaurants, gas stations, on air travel, and hotels. Because this card has lots of bonus categories, it is one of the best credit cards to earn points for ordinary spending.

You can read up on all the benefits to get a better idea of whether or not this card is a good fit for you.

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express — 6% Cash-back

While earning transferrable points is preferable to many folks, sometimes it’s hard to beat good old cash-back, and the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card delivers, earning 6% cash-back at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 in purchases yearly).

Additionally, this card earns 6% cash-back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% cash-back at U.S. gas stations, and 3% cash-back on transit purchases.

The 3 Best Cards for Airfare

When booking airfare, it’s important to understand the different credit cards in detail. Some credit cards only earn bonus points when booking airfare in a specific way, so be sure to keep track of that when deciding which credit cards to open and use.

The Platinum Card® from American Express — 5x Points

Our top pick for airfare purchases is the Amex Platinum card. With some of the best earning structures in the business, you can earn 5 Membership Rewards points per dollar on airfare booked directly with the airline or with Amex Travel.

Unfortunately, airfare purchased through online travel agencies (i.e. Expedia, Orbitz, etc.) does not earn you the bonus points.

Earning at a rate of 5 points per dollar is a phenomenal way to get tons of value on airfare. According to our valuations, your 5 points per dollar is equivalent to an approximate return of 11 cents per dollar!

Additionally, you’ll enjoy perks like over $1,400 in statement credits, including up to $200 annual airline fee credit, up to $200 prepaid hotel booking credit, up to $200 in Uber Cash ($15 monthly and $35 in December) up to $240 annual digital entertainment credit, up to $100 annual Saks Fifth Avenue credit, $189 CLEAR Plus credit, up to $300 Equinox credit, and up to $155 Walmart+ credit – note some benefits require enrollment.

The card also includes travel insurance, hotel and rental car elite status, access to over 1,400 lounges in the Amex Global Lounge Collection, and more.

Hot Tip: Explore all of the benefits you get with the Amex Platinum Card, which we value at over $5,300.

Citi Prestige Card — 5x Points

The Citi Prestige card (no longer open to new applicants) is one of the most competitive cards out there. It was on our list for dining, and it’s back for airfare. You will earn 5 Citi ThankYou points per dollar spent on air travel and travel agencies.

That’s equal to an approximate return of around 8 cents per dollar in our points and miles valuations.

This card also earns 5x points on dining (mentioned earlier), 3x points at cruise lines and hotels, and 1x points everywhere else. You can also take advantage of the $250 annual travel credit and fourth night free among other benefits!

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card — 3x Points

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card earns 3x points on all non-Chase Ultimate Rewards travel, and airfare is absolutely included. According to our valuations, your 3x points are worth around 6 cents per dollar, which is a great return on your spend.

There are so many other benefits of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, including the up to $300 for a travel credit, Priority Pass membership, and up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck.

The 5 Best Cards for Hotels

Hotels are probably the single biggest portion of a vacation budget, so it’s imperative to optimize that expense as much as possible. There are many hotel rewards cards out there, and much of your decision will depend on your travel needs and predisposed loyalty to a particular brand.

However, you’ll find that some clear winners will maximize your return on hotel spending.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express — 5x Points

Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a huge welcome bonus offer of up to 150,000 points with the Amex Business Platinum card! The current public offer is 120,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)

The Amex Business Platinum card earns 5 Membership Rewards points per dollar on prepaid hotels through Amex Travel. These points are each worth approximately 2.2 cents, which makes an earning of 5 points per dollar equal to a return of about 11 cents per dollar.

It also earns 1.5x points (on up to $2 million in purchases per calendar year) on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more and on eligible U.S. purchases in these select business categories:

Construction material and hardware suppliers
Electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers
Shipping providers

Seeing as how hotel bookings are a huge percentage of travel costs, earning those points can add up quickly. Additionally, this card will grant you access to the Fine Hotels & Resorts and the Hotel Collection, among other benefits.

Hot Tip: Check out what else this card has to offer by reading up on the many benefits of the Amex Business Platinum card.

The World of Hyatt Credit Card — Up to 9x Points

The World of Hyatt card offers a marvelous way to earn World of Hyatt points with up to 9x points per dollar spent at Hyatt properties. You can also earn 2x points for restaurant, airline tickets purchases direction from airlines, local transit, and fitness/gym memberships purchases with this card.

World of Hyatt points are the most valuable hotel currency according to our points and miles valuations, so you definitely don’t want to miss out on such an attractive earning rate. Your 4 points per dollar are worth around 1.5 cents per point, which means you’ll approximately 6 cents per dollar for spending at Hyatt properties.

Also, you will receive an annual bonus of 1 free night at any Category 1-4 property, and this free night certificate can be worth upwards of $200!

Given that World of Hyatt points are incredibly valuable, this card offers a way to earn points that you can redeem for maximum value.

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card — 14x Points

The Hilton Aspire card is a top hotel card as it earns 14 Hilton Honors points per dollar spent at Hilton properties and confers complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status (offering free breakfast, executive lounge access, and suite upgrades, among other perks).

The first point is huge, and in fact, there’s no other credit card that offers anywhere near as many Hilton Honors points. Although Hilton Honors points aren’t as valuable as World of Hyatt points, your 14x points will still equate to a return on spend of around 7%.

Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card — 6x Points

The Marriott Bonvoy Business card earns 6x points at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels. Marriott Bonvoy points are worth around 0.7 cents per point, so your hotel spending would amount to a 4.2% return on spend.

When you consider the fact that you can redeem Marriott Bonvoy points for flights, even Emirates first class, you can imagine how you can drastically increase your return on spend.

You will receive 1 free night award every year after your card account anniversary. Plus, earn an additional free night after you spend $60,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year.

Awards can be used for 1 night (redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at a participating hotel. Certain hotels have resort fees. There are countless ways to redeem Marriott Bonvoy points, so check out our best ways to redeem Marriott Bonvoy points for hotels.

Citi Premier Card — 3x Points

The last credit card for hotels we’ll discuss is the Citi Premier card, which earns 3x points on all hotel travel. Citi ThankYou Points are worth approximately 1.6 cents per point, which means that your effective earnings are around 4.8 to 5 cents per dollar spent on travel.

Also, you can earn 3x points on restaurants, gas stations, air travel, and supermarkets. There are lots of excellent ways to redeem your ThankYou Points, most of which involve transferring your ThankYou Points to Citi’s airline and hotel transfer partners.

Your points are worth 1 cent each when redeemed toward airfare booked through via the ThankYou Travel Center.

The 2 Best Cards for General Travel Purchases

What if you have travel spending outside of ordinary airfare or hotels? Some of these include car rentals, travel agencies, cruises, parking, and taxis.

Per Chase’s exact definition, “Merchants in the travel category include airlines, hotels, motels, timeshares, car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites, campgrounds and operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, ferries, toll bridges and highways, and parking lots and garages.”

Different banks allow different merchants to count as travel, so please consult each individual card’s terms and conditions to get adequate clarity on this.

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card — 3x Points

The Ink Business Preferred card is one of the best travel and business credit cards in the industry. With amazing travel earnings, excellent travel protection, and even cell phone protection, this card is a no-brainer.

You’ll earn 3 points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in the following categories each account anniversary year:

Travel
Internet, cable, and phone services
Advertising purchases with search engines and social media sites
Shipping purchases

This means you could earn up to 450,000 points on travel every year. Earning 3 points per dollar is approximately equal to earning a return of 6 cents per dollar spent.

You’ll enjoy trip cancellation and interruption protection, trip delay insurance, purchase protection, primary auto rental collision damage waiver when renting for business purposes, delayed/lost luggage protection, and cell phone protection.

Bottom Line: The Ink Business Preferred card is the best overall business credit card for travel. The ongoing spending categories and travel benefits make this card a must-have in your wallet.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card — 3x Points

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is the best consumer card for general travel. It earns 3 points per dollar spent on travel, and Chase’s definition of travel is quite generous. The 3 points per dollar earned are worth around 6 cents per dollar when you factor in our valuations.

Also, you’ll have great travel protection when you spend with this card, including trip cancellation/interruption insurance, trip delay insurance, purchase protection, primary auto rental collision damage waiver, and lost luggage protection.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card’s travel benefits match up closely with the Ink Business Preferred card, except for cell phone protection.

The 4 Best Cards for Gas Purchases

Spending on gas can be a significant expense, especially if you drive a lot. If you don’t have a special loyalty to a certain brand of gasoline, you can stand to save a large sum of money when filling up at the pump.

Amex EveryDay Preferred Card — 2x Points

The Amex EveryDay Preferred card is the clear winner in the battle for the best gas card. You will earn 2 points per dollar spent at U.S. gas stations. Also, if 30 transactions are made on the card within the billing month, you will earn a 50% bonus on your points earned for the month.

This means you can earn up to 3x points when you use the card 30 times per month. By maxing out the rewards earning structure, you can snag a return of around 6.6 cents per dollar, according to our valuations.

Remember that you earn 1x points at gas stations outside of the U.S.

Citi Premier Card — 3x Points

Back to rewards-earning credit cards, the Citi Premier card earns 3x Citi ThankYou Rewards Points on gas, equal to a return of around 4.8 to 5 cents per dollar.

You’ll also earn 3x points at restaurants, on air travel, and on hotels.

Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card — 3% Cash-back

The Amex Blue Cash Preferred card earns 3% cash-back at U.S. gas stations. Cash-back is earned as Reward Dollars and can’t be converted into American Express Membership Rewards.

Alternatively, there’s a version of this card without an annual fee, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, which also earns 3% cash-back at U.S. gas stations, but it’s capped at $6,000 in purchases each year.

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card — 2% Cash-back

The Ink Business Cash card is an excellent option for those who primarily focus on business spending. The card earns 2% cash-back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year at gas stations and at restaurants.

You can also earn 5% at office supply stores and on internet, cable, and phone services, which we’ll talk about in the later sections.

Ordinarily, this card earns cash-back, but if you also hold a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards and transfer points to that card, you can transfer points to airline partners, opening the gate to first and business class award travel.

If you have a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you could potentially convert your 2x points on gas into a 4% return on spend.

In all, you can earn 2% cash-back or 2x points on up to $25,000 spent, which amounts to $500 cash-back or 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points.

The 2 Best Cards for Cellular Phone, Internet, Cable, and Other Telecommunications

Telecommunications spending makes up a large portion of business spending, and missing out on extra points or cash-back translates directly to leaving money on the table. A recurring bill of a few hundred dollars per month can earn tens of thousands of points every year.

Ink Business Cash Card — 5% Cash-back

Without a doubt, the best card to get the best return on your spend is the Ink Business Cash card. This card earns 5% cash-back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year at office supply stores and on internet, cable, and phone services.

If you have a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can effectively convert your 5% cash-back to 5x Ultimate Rewards points, which is worth approximately 10 cents per dollar, according to our points and miles valuations. This return is incredible for office spending, which is why it is our top winner.

Hot Tip: There are numerous other aspects of this credit card. Check out the valuable benefits of the Ink Business Cash card.

Ink Business Preferred Card — 3x Points

The Ink Business Preferred card is similarly an excellent option. It earns 3x points on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in these categories each account anniversary year:

Internet, cable, and phone services
Travel
Shipping purchases
Advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines

Your 3x points earnings are equal to around 5.7 to 6 cents per dollar when you take into account our points valuations.

You might want to use the Ink Business Preferred card instead of the Ink Business Cash card if you’ve already maxed out the 5% cash-back from the Ink Business Cash card or you want the cell phone protection and are willing to forgo a few points to have it.

Bottom Line: If you don’t have a business, you’ll want to check out these personal credit cards for cable, internet, and phone purchases.

The 2 Best Cards for Entertainment

Needless to say, entertainment is a huge (and often necessary) expense in life. Things like event tickets, amusement parks, movie theaters, bowling alleys, and even zoos make up a large percentage of discretionary spending.

As always, you’ll want to maximize the value you get from spending, so let’s get into the top credit cards for the entertainment bonus category.

U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card — 5% Cash-back

The U.S. Bank Cash+ Signature card earns 5% cash-back on 2 quarterly categories you can choose, including movie theaters and streaming services, up to $2,000 per quarter.

If you max out the $2,000 per quarter on qualifying entertainment spending, you can earn $400 per year on your $8,000 spent.

The card also earns 2% cash-back on your choice of 1 everyday category, like gas stations or grocery stores, plus 1% on all other eligible net purchases.

Capital One Savor Rewards Credit Card — 4% to 8% Cash-back

The Capital One Savor card earns an unlimited 4% cash-back on dining and entertainment plus it earns 8% cash-back on Capital One Entertainment purchases.

According to Capital One, eligible entertainment purchases can be movies, plays, concerts, sporting events, tourist attractions, theme parks, aquariums, zoos, dance clubs, pool halls, or bowling alleys.

A broad definition of what counts as entertainment is great as this can greatly increase your chances of getting 4% cash-back.

The 2 Best Cards for Gym Memberships

Gym memberships are a good chunk of many people’s spending habits. With recurring monthly/yearly transactions, it’s in your best interest to squeeze value where you can, and gym memberships are no exception.

U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card — 5% Cash-back

The U.S. Bank Cash+ Signature card allows you to earn 5% cash-back on 2 categories chosen from a preset list (up to $2,000 per quarter), including gyms and fitness centers.

World of Hyatt Card — 2x Points

The other card that presents an excellent option to earn points with gym memberships is the World of Hyatt card.

Among other benefits, you’ll earn 2 bonus points per $1 spent on fitness club and gym memberships (and at restaurants, on airline tickets purchased directly from the airlines, and on local transit and commuting).

Seeing as how World of Hyatt points are the most valuable hotel currency out there, your gym spending on the World of Hyatt card is equivalent to a 3.2% return on spend.

Also, you’ll earn a free night each year in any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel on each cardmember anniversary, automatic World of Hyatt elite status, and much more. There are loads of benefits you get just by holding the card.

The 2 Best Cards for Office Supplies

Office supplies often constitute a big piece of overall business spending. Luckily, optimizing your office supplies spending is made easy, especially if you’re looking for business credit cards.

Ink Business Cash Card — 5% Cash-back

The best way to earn points on office supplies is without a doubt the Ink Business Cash card.

This credit card is our top choice because it offers 5% cash-back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supplies stores (and on internet, cable, and phone services).

If you transfer your cash-back to a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards, you can nearly double your return on spend, upping your earnings to a 10% return.

Also, you’ll earn 2% back on up to $25,000 in combined purchases at restaurants and gas stations, followed by 1% back on other purchases.

Huntington Voice Business Credit Card℠ — 4% Cash-back

The Huntington Voice Business card is an unexpected pick that not a lot of people know about. This card earns 4% cash-back on up to $7,000 in purchases per quarter in 1 of 10 categories, including office supplies.

If you’ve exhausted the 5% cash-back from the Ink Business Cash card, the Huntington Voice Business card is yet another great way to get rewarded for office supplies spending.

The 3 Best Cards for Rotating Categories

Freedom Flex Q3 2022 5x categories — Image Credit: Chase

Most credit cards don’t have spending categories that change over time. While they have bonus earning structures on specific categories, the categories in which you earn bonus points themselves rarely change.

However, a few credit cards have bonus categories that change, typically every quarter. These categories typically have very appealing incentive structures. Let’s talk about the best credit cards for rotating categories.

Chase Freedom Flex℠ — 5% Cash-back

The Freedom Flex card offers rotating categories every quarter that enable you to earn 5% cash-back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases each quarter in bonus categories.

Keep in mind that activation is always required to earn 5% cash-back. Historically, these categories have included:

Department stores
Drugstores
Gas stations
Grocery stores (not including Walmart and Target purchases)
Home improvement stores
Internet/cable/phone services
Lyft
Mobile payments: Chase Pay, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay
Select streaming services
Tolls
Walgreens

This is not an exhaustive list, but the purpose is to give you an idea of what exactly rotating categories could mean.

By pairing this card with an Ultimate Rewards-earning credit card such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you’d be earning a return of 10% on your spending.

U.S. Bank Cash+ Signature Card — 5% Cash-back

The U.S. Bank Cash+ Signature card earns 5% cash-back on combined purchases in 2 categories that you choose, up to $2,000 every quarter. These categories are:

Cell phone providers
Department stores and select clothing stores
Electronics stores
Fast food
Furniture stores
Ground transportation
Gyms/fitness centers
Home utilities
Movie theaters
Sporting goods stores
TV, internet, and streaming services

Discover it® Cash Back — 5% Cash-back

The Discover Cash Back card earns quarterly 5% bonus categories on up to $1,500 every quarter. Some of these have historically included:

Amazon.com, Target, and Walmart.com
Gas stations
Grocery stores
Home improvement stores
Restaurants and PayPal
Uber and Lyft
Wholesale clubs

The 6 Best Cards for Miscellaneous Spending

If all else fails or you have odd spending categories, don’t fret. There are a ton of ways to get rewarded for ordinary, non-bonused spending.

The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express — 2x Points

The Amex Blue Business Plus card is undoubtedly the best business rewards credit card for simple, non-bonused spending.

This card earns 2x Membership Rewards points on all purchases for the first $50,000 spent each year, then 1x after. This is equivalent to an approximate 4.2% to 4.5% return on spend for the first $50,000 spent each year.

This earning structure allows you to earn lots of points in a simplified way across the board.

You can redeem your Membership Rewards points for flights, which is just one of the valuable benefits of the Amex Blue Business Plus card.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card — 2x Miles

The Capital One Venture X card offers 2x miles on all purchases with no caps, making it one of the best cards in the world for miscellaneous purchases.

Best of all, the miles you earn are transferrable to airline and hotel partners, mostly at a 1:1 ratio. Based on this, your return on spend would be around 3.6% for miscellaneous purchases.

Other incredible benefits include a $300 annual travel credit for bookings made through Capital One Travel, access to airport lounges including Priority Pass lounges, Plaza Premium Lounges, and Capital One Lounges, and the ability to earn up to 10x miles on paid bookings through Capital One Travel..

Chase Freedom Unlimited® — 1.5% Cash-back

The Freedom Unlimited card offers a solid 1.5% cash-back on purchases outside of its bonus categories.

The rewards you earn are cash-back, but holding another Chase card such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred card that offers transfers to Ultimate Rewards allows you to consolidate your rewards and redeem them as points. This effectively generates around a 3% return on overall spend.

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card — 1.5% Cash-back

The Ink Business Unlimited card is a business credit card used for non-bonus spending. It pays a fixed rate of 1.5% (or 1.5x points when transferring cash-back to an Ultimate Rewards earning card) on all business purchases with no limits.

Earning 1.5x points by pairing with a card that earns Ultimate Rewards points will boost the return on spending to 2.85%.

Amex Blue Cash Everyday Card — 3% Cash-back

The Amex Blue Cash Everyday card might be overlooked by some but it shouldn’t since it earns 3% cash-back at U.S. online retailers on up to $6,000 in purchases each year. This is a really broad category that can include lots of otherwise non-bonus spending categories.

Apparel, footwear, and accessories stores
Auto and home supply stores
Book stores
Computer and electronics stores
Department stores
Drugstores
Furniture stores (like Wayfair.com)
Major retailers (like Amazon.com)
Personal and household care
Pet stores (like Chewy.com)
Sporting goods stores
Toy and hobby stores

Additionally, this card also earns 3% cash-back at U.S. gas stations (up to $6,000 in purchases yearly) and U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 in purchases yearly).

Hot Tip: Trying to compare the Chase business credit cards out there? Check out our detailed guide that breaks everything down!

Amex EveryDay Preferred Card — 1x Points

The Amex EveryDay Preferred card earns 1x points on non-bonused purchases. But, if 30 transactions are made on the card within the billing month, you will earn a 50% bonus on your points earned for the month.

Also, you’ll earn 3x points at U.S. supermarkets for the first $6,000 per year (then 1x points) and 2x points at U.S. gas stations.

You could elevate your earnings to 1.5x points per dollar spent, which is worth 3.3%, according to our valuations. This is an excellent way to earn bonus points, provided that you use your card at least 30 times per month.

Final Thoughts

There are so many different credit cards out there that it’s nearly impossible to keep track of which cards are best for specific spending categories.

We’ve provided an outstanding resource to help figure out the best credit cards depending on your specific spending categories. You’ll want to make a habit of earning at least 2 points per dollar spent on all your spending.

There’s tons of value in strategically signing up for the cards where you’ll have the best bonus categories in alignment with your exact spending habits. Happy earning!

The information regarding the Huntington Voice Business Credit Card℠ was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

The information regarding the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information for the Citi Prestige® Card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information for The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card has been independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Discover it® Cash Back Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday® from American Express, click here.

Bonus Categories: Straightforward or Not?

The 10 Best Credit Cards Across All Bonus Categories — Summary

The 3 Best Cards for Dining

American Express® Gold Card — 4x Points

Citi Prestige® Card — 5x Points

Chase Sapphire Reserve® — 3x Points

The 5 Best Cards for Supermarkets

The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card — 3x Points

Amex Gold Card — 4x Points

The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card — Up to 2.4x Points

Citi Premier® Card — 3x Points

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express — 6% Cash-back

The 3 Best Cards for Airfare

The Platinum Card® from American Express — 5x Points

Citi Prestige Card — 5x Points

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card — 3x Points

The 5 Best Cards for Hotels

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express — 5x Points

The World of Hyatt Credit Card — Up to 9x Points

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card — 14x Points

Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card — 6x Points

Citi Premier Card — 3x Points

The 2 Best Cards for General Travel Purchases

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card — 3x Points

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card — 3x Points

The 4 Best Cards for Gas Purchases

Amex EveryDay Preferred Card — 2x Points

Citi Premier Card — 3x Points

Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card — 3% Cash-back

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card — 2% Cash-back

The 2 Best Cards for Cellular Phone, Internet, Cable, and Other Telecommunications

Ink Business Cash Card — 5% Cash-back

Ink Business Preferred Card — 3x Points

The 2 Best Cards for Entertainment

U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card — 5% Cash-back

Capital One Savor Rewards Credit Card — 4% to 8% Cash-back

The 2 Best Cards for Gym Memberships

U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card — 5% Cash-back

World of Hyatt Card — 2x Points

The 2 Best Cards for Office Supplies

Ink Business Cash Card — 5% Cash-back

Huntington Voice Business Credit Card℠ — 4% Cash-back

The 3 Best Cards for Rotating Categories

Chase Freedom Flex℠ — 5% Cash-back

U.S. Bank Cash+ Signature Card — 5% Cash-back

Discover it® Cash Back — 5% Cash-back

The 6 Best Cards for Miscellaneous Spending

The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express — 2x Points

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card — 2x Miles

Chase Freedom Unlimited® — 1.5% Cash-back

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card — 1.5% Cash-back

Amex Blue Cash Everyday Card — 3% Cash-back

Amex EveryDay Preferred Card — 1x Points

Final Thoughts

Frequently asked questions

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How can I maximize my credit card rewards?

What is the best credit card rewards program?

Which credit card gives more reward points?

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